For bookings or recording inquiries, send an email to wgmilleriii@gmail.com.

32 pianos

a Goldberg Variations recording project

November 6, 2016

Celebrating the release of the first CD in this project! This recording was made on a beautiful vintage Mason and Hamlin, meticulously restored by Mollberg Piano Restoration. Recorded and mixed by Jaxon Edwards.

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For public releaseJanuary 5, 2016New York, NY

According to pianist Chip Miller, there's nothing like a great recording of a great piano. Except a great recording of two great pianos. OK, let's make that 32 pianos.

Dr. Willis G. “Chip” Miller, III has begun his own recording of the “Goldberg Variations” on thirty-two different pianos, featuring live performances in private homes as well as public halls and spaces. Some of these performances are professionally recorded, and some are “field” performances with ambient sounds adding to the charm of the music.

“The Goldberg Variations is an ideal work for this project,” Miller says. “Every one of these variations is so unique - they each have their own personality, and their own set of challenges. I wanted to assemble a recording that would highlight these differences in a new way.” Inspiration for this project came in the summer of 2015, when Miller was working at the Interlochen Center for the Arts as a

The charm of live music, shared in homes with close friends, is a gift we experience too little in this age... but the love that piano-owners have for their instruments will be reflected in this recording.

collaborative pianist. The institution draws thousands of musicians to its program each year; in order to support their work, hundreds of pianos are carefully maintained.

“Hopping from piano to piano - practicing the Goldbergs between rehearsals ... this allowed me to experience shades of color and timbre that enhanced this music in unexpected ways.” Like many artists, Miller speaks of the instruments he has played like friends or family members. “There is a fantastic instrument in Santa Fe that I'm really looking forward to playing this spring.”

Chip Miller, pianist

His eyes light up as he recalls the 1890 Steinway D housed by St. John's College. “It's an enormous, beast of an instrument - one of the heaviest actions I have ever encountered, but the bass will be perfect for Variation Eight.”

The real heart of this recording lies in the intimacy of Miller's approach. “This work was written at a time when music was enjoyed in the comfort of home. It was played on instruments and experienced through acoustics that were woven into daily life.” Miller is one of many modern musicians who take an active part in reviving the “house concert” scene.
“Piano owners become very attached to the sound quality of their instruments. Though this project, I want to give others an opportunity to have a recording - or part of a recording - of the Goldberg Variations published, with the sounds of an instrument they already know and love.”